Australian boxing sensation Ebanie Bridges has made it loud and clear that should a biological male ever step into the ring with her, she’s not having any of it, and that the idea alone is detrimental to women’s sports as a whole.
Ebanie Bridges via Seconds Out YouTube
In a recent interview, the IBF female bantamweight champion was asked whether or not she would ever face off against a transgender woman, or biological male. Bridges didn’t hesitate at all to respond at all.
“No, never,” stated Bridges. “I think it’s wrong, especially in boxing. I think in all sport. I just think a lot of women in sports that are breaking records weren’t originally women and in a sport where you are trying to hurt the other person. You’re born (a) man. I don’t care what you say, how many hormones you’re taking, you’re still born (a) man.
“It’s like saying all of a sudden Mike Tyson wants to be a girl now and he goes and fights you,” she continued. “No Way! And how do you measure it? ‘They don’t really look masculine so that’s OK,’ No.”
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Bridges pointed out to studies that show that even men smaller in size are significantly stronger, making it difficult for biological women to compete effectively. She also believes that this challenges the notion of femininity in sports and could potentially disadvantage real women striving to be the best in their field.
“And then you got women who transition into men that go against the men, which never happens. Very rarely,” Bridges continued. “It’s always the other way around. There’s no girls that go, ‘I’m transitioning because I feel like I’m male’ and they go into men’s sport. They don’t do that. It’s only the other way around. And if it was the other way around, for example, in combat sports, unless she’s taking a log of testosterone and steroids – which is banned – you’re gonna get blasted by men.”
Ebanie Bridges via Seconds Out YouTube
Bridges did support a category for these fighters as to not impact the integrity of the men’s and women’s divisions in boxing.
“The reality is, biologically, it’s still what they are. And it just takes away from the women, from women’s sport.”
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